Whoosh!!!
The sun that illuminated the world did not linger long in the sky.
Or rather…
It was like a firework in full bloom—brilliant for a fleeting instant, vanishing just as quickly, yet leaving an indelible impression in the hearts of all who witnessed it.
Boom!!!
Wrapped in raging flames, the massive wine barrel containing Vasco Shot plummeted like a meteor, slamming violently into the ground of Amazon Lily, making the entire island let out a thunderous, agonized roar.
And then—
For a long while, nothing emerged again from the deep fissure torn open in the earth.
"W–Wait… no way! That figure up there—could it be…?"
Among the Black Lion Alliance, some sharp-eyed pirates stared at the figure in the sky, their faces instantly filling with shock.
"Isn't that the Straw Hat Pirates' Flame-Speed Man—Sanji?!"
"That's the pirate with a bounty of 990,000,000 Beli!!!"
"Why is he here?!"
"Don't tell me… that guy's our enemy?!"
"..."
"..."
As Sanji's silhouette hovered above them, the once-rampaging pirates suddenly stiffened, an inexplicable fear creeping into their hearts.
After all, this was someone who—according to intelligence—had defeated a Marine Admiral.
Even if he was only one of them.
And coincidentally…
Quite a few of the powerhouses present had once been personally captured by Marine Admirals and thrown into Impel Down.
They knew all too well just how terrifying an Admiral truly was.
That suffocating sense of pressure was something ordinary people simply could not withstand.
The more you knew, the more afraid you became.
"N–No worries!"
"We still have Boss Golden Lion and Boss Blackbeard!"
"With those two around, who cares if it's the Straw Hat Pirates—what's even a Marine Admiral?!"
"R–Right!"
"What the hell are we afraid of?! Let's kill the bastard!"
"..."
"..."
With pirates encouraging one another in scattered groups, the atmosphere—momentarily chilled by Vasco Shot being kicked away—quickly heated up again.
Some of them even began to speculate that after unleashing such a terrifying kick, Sanji's stamina must have dropped sharply.
The thought of seizing the opportunity to defeat Sanji and make a name for themselves crept into their minds.
Fwoosh!
Blazing flames surged once more, but under Sanji's control, they condensed into a fiery cloak swirling around his body.
Grabbing a corner of the flame cloak with one hand, Sanji struck what he believed was a handsome pose—and indeed, it truly was—before warmly calling down to Rindou and the others below:
"Sexy ladies and adorable young misses—are you all hurt?!"
"Huh?!"
Still savoring the shock of Sanji's earth-shattering kick, Rindou froze for a moment, then hurriedly nodded.
"N–No, we're fine!"
"Thank you so much for your help!"
As she spoke, Rindou suddenly bowed sincerely toward Sanji in gratitude.
With her already bold outfit, that movement instantly revealed a pair of spectacular curves that made any man's blood surge.
Sanji—who hadn't shed a single drop of blood in battle—nearly suffered the first nosebleed of this fight.
Thankfully, he hadn't gone through the hellish experiences of the original timeline, and with years spent alongside beauties like Robin and Nami, his tolerance was… acceptable.
Forcing himself to stay composed, Sanji coughed lightly twice and spoke with feigned calm:
"If the ladies and young misses are safe, then I'll be heading elsewhere."
"There are still many more ladies waiting for my rescue!"
"So—see you later~"
His Observation Haki spread outward, locking onto other locations on Amazon Lily where pirates were still running rampant.
In the next instant, Sanji activated his Devil Fruit ability, transforming into a streak of black light and vanishing from where he stood.
Just as he had said…
He would never allow anyone to destroy this paradise!!!
...
...
"So Sanji's already moved ahead?"
"That guy who can't walk when he sees a woman doing this—it's not surprising at all."
"Yohohoho~ How enviable, Mr. Sanji's abilities truly are! If possible, I too would like to witness the beauty of the Land of Women as soon as possible!"
"Hey, Brook! Don't tell me you're going bad too?!"
At the same time—
While Amazon Lily was engulfed in the flames of war, the Going Merry ascended to an even higher altitude, slowly arriving above both Amazon Lily and the Black Lion Alliance's Sky Island.
Unlike Sanji, who had rushed ahead to put out fires, the rest of the Straw Hat crew remained calmly stationed on the Merry's deck, as if waiting for something.
Just then, a Den Den Mushi set up on the deck suddenly began to ring.
Immediately after, the printer beside it started rattling noisily.
Moments later, Robin—standing by the printer—picked up the freshly printed pages, glanced over them carefully, and addressed the group:
"The list is out."
"Based on Aisa's reconnaissance, the Black Lion Alliance forces currently on Amazon Lily are as follows…"
"Pirates below Level 10: over 3,200."
"Level 10 to 20: over 900."
"Level 20 to 30: over 300."
"Level 30 to 40: 82."
"Level 40 to 50: 35."
"Level 50 to 60: 6 people—one of them has already been defeated by Sanji."
At this point, Robin paused slightly, a hint of surprise appearing on her face.
Then she looked around at the Straw Hats and slowly continued:
"And finally…"
"Pirates above Level 60: one."
"Above Level 60?!"
Usopp shouted in shock.
"That's right,"
Robin nodded firmly.
"According to Aisa's detection, Golden Lion—who's currently fighting Red—should be around Level 70, though with significant fluctuation."
"And Blackbeard, who's fighting Luffy…"
She paused again before speaking slowly.
"His level is at least 75 or higher."
Gulp—
Usopp swallowed hard.
It wasn't that Blackbeard's level alone frightened him.
It was the realization that someone of that caliber actually held a grudge against him.
Recalling the look Blackbeard gave him before falling into the sea last time, Usopp shuddered violently.
"You have to win, Luffy!!!"
At this moment, more than ever before, he desperately wished for his captain's victory.
Even though…
Under this evaluation system, Luffy's strength only came out to around Level 70.
This assessment system was a template Red and Aisa had developed not long ago for long-range detection of enemy strength.
It wasn't calibrated based on the Straw Hat crew's actual levels.
Instead, after carefully studying the power and levels of average, ordinary Pokémon, Red established a specialized grading system.
This system didn't truly apply to prodigies like Luffy or Zoro.
Within this framework, their assessed levels would inevitably be higher than their actual ones.
Only someone like Smoker might have an evaluation that closely matched his true strength.
Of course—
While judging power based purely on aura intensity couldn't predict an enemy's true strength with absolute accuracy, it still provided valuable reference.
At the very least, it prevented the Straw Hats from unknowingly facing opponents far beyond their capabilities.
In a pirate world so lacking in intelligence networks, this could already be considered a detection method impressive enough to astonish the masses.
(End of Chapter)